1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to semiconductor device fabrication. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an imprint substrate and an imprinting method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, the forming of nano-scale micro patterns is performed via nano-imprint technology. This nano-imprint technology is a lithography technology useful to form a device, such as a liquid crystal display panel or a semiconductor chip, stacked with thin films having micro patterns.
In current nano-imprint technology, after loading a patterned mold substrate on a processing substrate having a thin film thereon, the mold substrate is pressed against the process substrate, so that the thin film is patterned according to the pattern of the mold substrate. Since such a nano-imprint technology simplifies the patterning process of the thin film, productivity is improved, and the manufacturing cost is reduced.
In this nano-imprint technology, the mold substrate is pressed against the processing substrate such that the thin film of the processing substrate flows around the contours of the mold substrate, thereby forming the micro pattern on the thin film. Therefore, the degree of uniformity of the micro pattern is determined at least partially according to the flow degree, the flow direction, and the flow rate of the thin film. The flow degree and the flow direction of the thin film are, in turn, determined at least partially according to the pattern shape of the mold substrate. However, the flow degree and the flow direction of the thin film are not always easily controlled. Accordingly, the thickness of the thin film may become irregular, and the thin film is not always completely removed from a region where it should be.